spec_evofandomcom-20200214-history
Borealia (Future of The World)
Today, the earth is firmly divided into six geological continents, and seven political ones. But from 75 MyF onwards, there are only three proper continents. The continents of Eurasia, Australia, Africa and North America have all collided to form the continent of Borealia, the precursor to Novopangaea, and the first proper supercontinent to form since the breakup of Gondwana in the late Mesozoic. Borealia is mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, with the North Pole centered over what is today central North America. Africa and Australia are tropical in climate, with warm and humid rainforest covering much of Africa, and some of Australia and southern Eurasia. The rest of Borealia is temperate in climate, with seasonal ice in the northernmost latitudes. The fauna of Borealia, like most continents in the Basilozoic, is largely reptilian dominated, with a wide variety of herbivorous and carnivorous squamates, some large crocodilians, and even some large tortoises being common inhabitants of the continent. Eurasian Central Steppe Eurasia and Africa collided in the Late Cenozoic, forming a colossal mountain range. A similar collision between Australia and the islands of Sundaland, and the pre-holocene formation of the Himalayas, completely closed the last remnants of the ancient Tethys ocean about 37 MyF. These mountains form a significant rain block, and central Eurasia is now a vast inhospitable steppe. Mammals have long surrendered their place as the rulers of the earth, though they are still found here in large numbers. Instead, the most obvious inhabitants of this cold desert are giant lizards. Reptiles *'Common scutosquama', Scutosquama armata – The Common Scutosquama is a large Scutosaurus-like herbivorous lizard, a distant descendant of modern varanid lizards. The common scutosquama is the most common of a diverse and long-lived family, the Scutosquamidae. Common scutosquamas are large animals, with some weiging over a ton and measuring some 5 metres long. Despite this, the species is the main prey of most of the predators that coexist with them, and have developed a sort of armour plating on their back. The common scutosquama appears to be the ancestor of the coexisting goliath scutosquama, suggesting that the group may be evolving to larger sizes, possibly to outpace their predators. *'Goliath scutosquama', Scutosquama gigantea – This larger relative of the common scutosquama is quite similar to its ancestor, but to support its great weight, it has developed more pillar-like legs. The largest of these behemoths can be over four tons in weight, and be almost ten metres long. Like their smaller relative, they are convergent on Scutosaurus, though to a somewhat lesser degree. Goliath Scutosquamas are able to retain heat throughout the night, meaning they are somewhat rudimentary gigantotherms. *'Porcupine lizard', Hystrixsaurus vulgaris – This lizard is descended from the spiny tailed Uromastyx lizards of modern day India. Their form is similar to their ancestors, but their spiny tails have developed into quills that make the lizards quite unfavoured prey. They also, like most lizards of this time, have longer and more erect legs than their modern relatives. *'Steppe Saberdrake', Theriosaurus virosus – This monster is another descendant of monitors, but this species is a predator. Saberdrakes, or theriosaurids, are the apex predators of most parts of Borealia. The steppe saberdrake is the largest species of saberdrake, being up to 8 metres long and weighing almost half a ton. Unlike most reptiles, Theriosaurids have a heterodont dentition, with the killing weapon being a pair of caniform teeth on both jaws that can measure up to 15 cm long. The lower teeth connect to a venom gland in their lower jaw, though most species have lost the need for venom due to their size. Most large saberdrakes can retain heat part of the way through the night, but their still ectothermic metabolism renders them as mostly diurnal hunters. *'Ambulodraco,' Ambulodraco wyvernoides – Ambulodraco is a genus of derived bipedal gubernatotoid found throughout the Old World, one of the only completely bipedal squamates to exist. Ambulodraco are quite large, up to 6 metres long with a 5 metre wingspan, large enough to compete with saberdrakes, though their lighter build means they generally eat smaller prey. Unlike the mostly nonvenomous giant saberdrakes, ambulodracos have venom, and they can spit this venom with high accuracy up to three metres away. If it gets in a prey items eyes it will cause near instant blindness which lasts for several hours, more than enough time for the predator to finish off its prey. Ambulodracos are poor fliers among gubernators, and only fly when hard pressed by predation by ground-dwelling competitors. Ironically, flying from ground based enemies puts the relatively small ambulodraco at risk of attack by their much larger, and more volant relatives. Mammals *'Coyotoid', Serocyon classis – The largest living Borealian mammal is the Mongolian coyotoid, a distant descendant of modern mustelids, and an important nocturnal predator, taking over from saberdrakes in the chilling night time of the desert. Coyotoids are able to hunt prey larger than themselves by hunting in packs, and by using the fearlessness inherited from their ancestors, even the normally formidable saberdrakes can fall victim to a pack of coyotoids at night. Despite this nocturnal dominance, coyotoids are steadily being forced north by rising temperatures, with the continent of North America, now centered over the North Pole, and the high altitude Mediterranean/Indo-Australian mountains being the mammalian stronghold of Borealia. *'Raateh', Endurattus vulgaris – The raateh is a common murid rodent, widely distributed throughout Borealia. This species is notable for its lack of a tail, but is otherwise very similar to its relatives elsewhere, and to modern Holocene murids.